A Father Appreciated
by fanfic-xxxo-1305
Summary: All Jack Hotchner wishes to see is his father's smile.


**A Father Appreciated**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters. The show and all of its characters only belong to CBS.**

Written for the **Specific Character Prompt (Henry tries to do something special for his dad on Father's day and enlists the help of a team member. (Father doesn't have to be Will.) Alternately, this prompt can be done with Jack as well) by Whitewolf on the Monthly Prompts Forum. This is going to turn into a collection of stories about Jack and Hotch's lives, though**

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Jack Hotchner walked through the empty parking lot of the building where his dad worked. He held his father's hand protectively while they crossed the street. He felt safe and secure whenever he was with his father. His daddy was his superhero, yet better than any superman or spiderman.

"Jack, are you ready to see my friends at my job?" Hotch asked his son, who nodded his head slowly with a smile. He enjoyed seeing Jack happy whenever he visited his team.

Hotch led Jack into the elevator and pressed the button that brought them to the BAU floor of the FBI building. As soon as the father/son pair entered the bullpen, the agents there were all smiles.

"Say hi, Jack" Hotch murmured to the small blonde boy, who peered shyly at his fathers co-workers and friends.

"Hi sweetie" a friendly looking blonde woman greeted the boy with a smile. "How are ya today?"

Jack recognized the woman as Henry's mother. He really enjoyed playing with the other blonde boy. The two had become fast friends and now, they were inseparable whenever they were together.

"Good" Jack answered the blonde with a shy smile. He noticed his father's other friends: the man with the glasses and the longish hair, the dark-skinned, bald man, the man with the beard and grayish hair, the dark-haired woman and the overly friendly blonde woman with the glasses. She was his favorite out of all of his father's friends.

"Hey Jack!" the blonde with the glasses smiled a huge smile at her favorite little boy of the BAU. "How's my little munchkin?"

"Hi Garzia" he answered, struggling to say Garcia's name. That forced Garcia to chuckle at how cute the boy really was. Jack ran over to the blonde, who hugged him hugely. He then grabbed her hand, leading her away from the BAU and up to her office.

"Jack, honey. Where are we going?" Garcia asked with a laugh.

"I need to tell you something, Garzia". He then leaned down to whisper in her ear. "It's about daddy".

Garcia nodded. "Of course, sweetie. Let's go, then". The pair headed up to the technical analyst's office. Jack enjoys visiting her office the most because she always gives him candy and lollipops up there.

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The rest of the team watched the exchange between Hotch's son and Penelope Garcia.

"He seems excited" JJ murmured, a chuckle escaping from her lips. "He is absolutely adorable, Hotch".

Hotch grinned, revealing his deeply set dimples. Ever since the death of Hotch's ex wife and Jack's biological mother, Haley, Hotch had been more diligent then ever to try and please his son and make him happy at all times. He wanted the seven year old to be comfortable with living with only one parent. It was proving to be quite difficult for Hotch to step into the shoes of both a father and a mother with his crazy job, so he was grateful to have Jessica, Haley's sister and Jack's aunt, to watch him whenever she got the chance so that he could have an opportunity to collect his thoughts and function in his crazy job as an FBI agent.

"He really is a great kid" Emily remarked. "Strong and independent, just like his father". She exchanged a knowing look with Hotch, who gave her a small smile in return.

"That he is and I'm proud of him for that" Hotch replied before heading to the break room to grab a cup of coffee.

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"So you want to surprise your dad on Father's Day?" Garcia asked the seven year old blonde boy, who nodded swiftly. "That's a great idea, Jack!" She handed the boy a handful of lollipops and other goodies while she was at it.

"I love daddy" Jack commented. "He's a good guy, like superman and spiderman. He defeats the bad guys, like George".

That caused Garcia to remember that Jack had been there when Hotch had defeated George Foyet. He had never forgotten about that exchange, either.

Garcia changed the subject. "So what were you thinking of doing for your dad?"

Jack sat in silence for a moment, thinking, then he finally responded. "I want to see daddy smile more often". That remark warmed Garcia's soft heart, forcing her to hug the little boy for a moment.

"Okay, hun. What really brings a smile to your face that you think your dad would be happy to see as well?"

"I think clowns are funny. And Elmo is funny". Jack was smiling now and Garcia was forming a plan in her head. Seeing Hotch smile made her happy too, she she hatched a plan to make it downright hilarious. She then told her brilliant plan to Jack. Seeing that he thought it was cool, Garcia decided that she was going to make this plan happen, no matter what else happened.

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"Have you gone insane, woman?" Morgan asked the blonde technical analyst. "Babygirl, you know that I love you, but I think that this is going a little bit too far for my liking. I mean, really. Who else agrees with this?"

Morgan exchanged glances with Dave and Reid, who shrugged.

"If it's for the kids, then I'm game" Dave said while Reid just nodded in agreement.

"Come on, Derek. It'll be fun. It's only a costume" Garcia offered, smiling at the man.

Morgan looked defeated. "Fine, Mama. You got me, but if anyone else sees this..."

"Derek, come on. Just do it. We'll be at Mr. Rossi's house, here, so what's the worst that could happen?". Garcia gave her friend a pouty look before he finally gave in.

"Okay, you three. Make sure these costumes fit". Garcia tossed the outfits to the male agents, who sighed. There was no use attempting to fight with Garcia because it was known that you would often lose, even if you tried.

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"Hotch, hey!" Emily answered the door to Dave's huge house. Her boss and his son were standing in the doorway. She leaned down to acknowledge Jack as well before letting them both into the gigantic living room.

Dave's house was truly gorgeous: a wide open living room with fancy furniture and decor on the walls that was fit for a true king. Emily was dressed in a simple black, cotten dress and JJ, who had just entered the room, was clad in a grey halter-neck cotten dress. Garcia was on the other side of the room and was dressed in a floral printed dress that looked beautiful on her.

After greeting the ladies, Hotch noticed that JJ's son, Henry, was also present at the get-together. The other blonde boy hid behind JJ's legs out of shyness.

"Go on, Henry" JJ called to her son. "Go play with Jack, sweetheart".

Henry nodded and was about to follow Jack down the hallway when suddenly out of nowhere, three figures appeared in the hallway. One was dressed like a huge Elmo, one appeared to be a clown in heavy makeup, and the last one was Barney. The two boys and the four agents began to laugh at the attire of the three "fantasy" characters. Both Jack and Garcia were happy to see the smile on Hotch's face upon seeing the state of his co-workers. All of them knew that the three characters could only be Reid, Dave and Morgan.

Emily and JJ were hysterically laughing at the three while Garcia gave a knowing smile to Jack, who smiled back. Even stoical Hotch was smiling a huge beaming smile that was completely genuine. Suddenly, the dressed-up characters began to dance and sing to a song that referred to the wonderful gift of father's and happiness.

The entire room was erupting in laughter at this. All of a sudden, Reid, who was dressed as Barney, slipped on an umbrella that was leaning against the wall and stumbled forward onto the couch with his feet in the air and his costume twisted in about five different directions.

"Barney!" Henry shouted. "Why did you go airborne?"

Reid stumbled up from the couch, pulling the huge Barney head off of his body, revealing his twisted hair and glasses, yet he was smiling.

That evening, no one had laughed so hard or had as much fun as the team. One thing that Jack was proud of was achieving the importance of seeing the smile on his father's face that day. That was truly the only thing that he could ever wish for and he had Garcia to thank for making that happen.

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When Hotch and Jack had gotten home that night, Hotch began to tuck his son into bed, like he did every night.

"I love you daddy" Jack said softly to his father while he was covering his son with the comforter of his bed.

"I love you too, Jack" Hotch replied, gently stroking Jack's soft blonde hair.

"Daddy?"

"Yes Jack?"

"Do you think that mommy is in the stars right now?"

Hotch stiffened when Jack mentioned Haley, his dead ex-wife who was killed by the Reaper, himself.

After a moment, Hotch answered. "Yes, she is and she is so proud to have such a wonderful son, like you".

Jack was silent for a moment.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Will I ever get to have a mommy ever again? Henry has a mommy; can't I just get another mommy?"

Hotch froze when he thought about that. He definitely had considered this topic, many times before, if he was being honest.

"Maybe, Jack. I don't really know, but I am going to hope that maybe you will, someday".

Both Hotchners were silent for a moment, until Hotch finally bid his son a final goodnight before turning out the lights and exiting his son's room. As he made his way down to his own bedroom in the apartment, he thought about the woman who he was slowly falling for and wondered if the possibilities of her ever becoming a mother figure to his son were in the cards for his future. He certainly hoped so. All he could do is hope and dream and wish it were reality. For now, it was only a fragment of a dream.

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**Thanks so much for reading. I'm going to continue with this collection of stories about Hotch and Jack so keep posted. **


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